Wooden post assembly with a joint

ABSTRACT

A wooden post assembly has two wooden posts and a joint. Each wooden post has an outer periphery and a joint surface with a center formed on one end of the wooden post. The joint is formed between the joint surfaces of the wooden posts to attach the wooden posts together. The joint has multiple concentric circular recesses defined in the joint surface of one of the wooden posts and multiple circular ribs formed on the joint surface of the other wooden post to engage the circular recesses. Accordingly, the contact area between the joint surfaces of the wooden posts to which glue is applied is increased, such that the structural strength of the combined wooden posts is enhanced.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a wooden post assembly, and moreparticularly to a wooden post assembly with a joint to enhance theconnection between two wooden posts.

[0003] 2. Description of Related Art

[0004] Multiple wooden posts are connected to each other to form desiredobjects, such as table legs, balusters and banisters for stairs and soon. With reference to FIG. 5, multiple parallel mortises (42) aredefined in one end of one of a wooden post (40), and multiple tenons(52) corresponding to the mortises (42) are formed on one end of anotherwooden post (5). When the ends of the wooden posts (40, 50) abut eachother, the tenons (52) are received in the mortises (42). By applyingglue to the ends of the wooden posts (40, 50) before the tenons (52) areinserted into the mortises (42), the wooden posts (40, 50) will besecurely bonded together.

[0005] However, the conventional joint between two wooden posts (40, 50)has the following drawbacks:

[0006] 1. Poor appearance. With reference to FIG. 6, parallel mortises(42) and tenons (52) form a tooth-shaped interface line (B) on anexterior surface of the joined wooden posts (40, 50). The appearance ofan object made of conventionally joined wooden posts (40, 50) is notaesthetically pleasing due to the tooth-shaped interface line (B).

[0007] 2. Weak structural strength. With the parallel mortises (42) andtenons (52), the contact area between the wooden posts (40, 50) to whichglue is applied is limited so that the structural strength of the jointis low. When the object formed of the combined wooden posts (40,50) isshaken from one end of the object, the joint between the wooden posts(40, 50) will easily loosen. In addition, when an external force islaterally applied to the combined wooden posts (40, 50) along thedirection of the mortises (42), the wooden posts (40,50) are easilyseparate from each other.

[0008] To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides awooden post assembly to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The main objective of the invention is to provide a wooden postassembly that has an improved appearance and a joint with enhancedstructural strength to keep two combined wooden posts from separatingfrom each other. The wooden post assembly has two wooden posts and ajoint. Each wooden post has a joint surface with a center formed on oneend of the wooden post. A joint is formed between the joint surfaces oftwo wooden posts to attach the wooden posts together. Multipleconcentric circular recesses are defined in the end surface of one ofthe wooden posts, and multiple circular ribs are formed on the endsurface of the other wooden post to engage the circular recesses. Insuch an arrangement, the contact area between the end surfaces of thewooden posts to which glue is applied increases, and the structuralstrength of the joint between wooden posts is enhanced.

[0010] Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the inventionwill become more apparent from the following detailed description whentaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011]FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a wooden post assemblyin accordance with the present invention;

[0012]FIG. 2 is a cross sectional side plan view of a joint of thewooden post assembly in FIG. 1;

[0013]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an object made of the wooden postassembly in FIG. 1;

[0014]FIG. 4 is a cross sectional side plan view of a second embodimentof a joint of a wooden post assembly in accordance with the presentinvention;

[0015]FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional woodenpost assembly in accordance with the prior art; and

[0016]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an object made with theconventional wooden post assembly in FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0017] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a wooden post assembly inaccordance with the present invention has two wooden posts (10, 20) anda joint (not numbered). Each wooden post (10, 20) has an outer peripheryand a joint surface (not numbered) with a center. The joint is formedwhen the joint surfaces of the wooden posts (10,20) are pressed thewooden posts (10,20) together. Multiple circular recesses (12) andmultiple circular ribs (22) form the joint. The circular recesses (12)are defined concentrically in the joint surface of one of the woodenposts (10). The circular ribs (22) are formed concentrically on thejoint surface of the other wooden post (20). Each rib (22) correspondsto and engages with one of the circular recesses (12) when the jointsurfaces of the wooden posts (10, 20) are pressed together. In addition,a circular recess (14) is defined at the center of the junction surfaceof the wooden post (10) in which the recesses (12) are defined. Acylindrical stub (24) is formed at the center of the joint surface ofthe wooden post (20) on which the ribs (22) are formed. The stub (24)corresponds to and engages with the circular recess (14) when the woodenposts (10,20) are pressed together.

[0018] To securely attach the wooden posts (10, 20), glue is applied tothe joint surfaces of the wooden posts (10, 20). Then, pressure ismaintained on the wooden posts (10, 20) until the glue dries so thewooden posts (10,20) will be securely attached to each other. Thecircular recesses (12) and ribs (22) increase the contact area betweenthe joint surfaces of the wooden posts (10, 20) to which glue is appliedso that the joint between the wooden posts (10,20) is enhanced. Thewooden posts (10, 20) will not loosen or separate when the wooden posts(10, 20) are shaken or an external force is applied to the joint in anydirection. The useful life of an object made of the wooden post assemblyin accordance with the present invention is prolonged.

[0019] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 3, circular recesses (12) and ribs(22) cause the joint between the joint surfaces of the wooden posts (10,20) to be a line (A) between the wooden posts. Accordingly, theappearance of an object made of the wooden post assembly in accordancewith the present invention will not be adversely influenced by the line(A) and is aesthetically pleasing.

[0020] With reference to FIG. 2, each circular recess (12) and rib (22)is rectangular, so each circular rib (22) corresponds to one of thecircular recesses (12). With reference to FIG. 4, another embodiment ofthe wooden post assembly has circular recesses (12′) and circular ribs(22′) that are trapezoidal so each circular rib (22′) corresponds to oneof the circular recesses (12′).

[0021] Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of thepresent invention have been set forth in the foregoing description,together with details of the structure and function of the invention,the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail,especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts withinthe principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by thebroad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims areexpressed.

What is claimed is:
 1. A wooden post assembly comprising: a first and asecond wooden posts each having an outer periphery and a joint surfacewith a center formed on one end of each wooden post; and a joint formedbetween the joint surfaces of the wooden posts to attach the woodenposts together, and the joint comprising: multiple circular recessesdefined concentrically in the joint surface of the first wooden post;and multiple circular ribs formed concentrically on the joint surface ofthe second wooden post, and each rib corresponding to and engaging oneof the circular engaging recesses in the first wooden post.
 2. Thewooden post assembly as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a circularrecess defined at the center of the joint surface of the first woodenpost; and a cylindrical stub formed at the center of the joint surfaceof the second wooden post and corresponding to and engaging the circularrecess in the first wooden post.
 3. The wooden post assembly as claimedin claim 1, wherein each circular recess is rectangular; and eachcircular rib is rectangular to correspond to one of the circularrecesses.
 4. The wooden post assembly as claimed in claim 1, whereineach circular recess trapezoidal; and each circular rib trapezoidal tocorrespond to one of the circular recesses.